Most of the candidates of three newly-registered political parties -- Trinamool BNP, Bangladesh Nationalist Movement (BNM), and Bangladesh Supreme Party (BSP) -- are little known in their constituencies.

They do not have connection with the people while voters in some areas got to know their names only after announcement of their candidacies.

Some of their aspirants came from other political parties or organisations including Awami League, BNP and Jatiya Hindu Mohajote.

Trinamool BNP got registered in February this year, while BNM and BSP in August.

Talking to more than 100 voters in 18 constituencies of seven districts, it was found that most of them do not know the candidates of these three newly registered political parties.

In Chattogram, nine candidates are contesting under the banner of Trinamool BNP.

They are: Khokon Chowdhury in Chattogram-4, Md Nazim Uddin in Chattogram-5, Md Yahya Zia Chowdhury in  Chattogram-6, Khorshed Alam in Chattogram-7, Santosh Sharma in Chattogram-8, Sujit Sarkar in Chattogram-9, Ferdaus Bashir in Chattogram-10, Deepak Kumar Palit in Chattogram-11, and Rajiv Chowdhury in Chattogram-12.

Besides, Yakub Ali is contesting under the banner of BNM in Chattogram-12.

Ironically, some of the Trinamool BNP candidates even do not know each other, despite contesting under the same party's banner.

Md Nazim Uddin, who was the former vice-president of Chittagong University Central Student Union, is the lone known face.

Asked, Nazim claimed that he does not know all the candidates of Trinamool BNP in other constituencies.

Deepak Kumar Palit, vice-chairperson of Trinamool BNP, echoed the same.

"I was an Awami League activist for 40 years. I also served as the Chattogram divisional president of Jatiya Hindu Mohajote. I could not participate in national elections earlier as there were several heavyweight candidates. Now, I have got the chance under the banner of Trinamool BNP," said Sujit Sarkar.

In four districts of Sylhet, some 16 candidates of the three parties are contesting.

Only four of them are known faces in their constituencies. They are: Trinamool BNP's chairperson Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, in Sylhet-6; former parliamentarian Shahinoor Pasha Chowdhury, who was recently suspended from the vice-president post of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, in Sunamganj-3 from Trinamool BNP; former lawmaker MM Shahin, who was a presidium member of Bikalpadhara, in Moulvibazar-2 from Trinamool BNP; and former lawmaker Dewan Shamsul Abedin, grandson of poet Hason Raja, in Sunamganj-4 from BNM. 

The remaining 12 are little known to their voters.

Other Trinamool BNP nominees include Ashraf Ali in Sunamganj-1, Mohammad Abdul Mannan Khan in Sylhet-2, Koysor Ahmed Kawsar and Kutub Uddin Ahmed Sikder in Sylhet-5, Khairul Alam and Sadiqur Miah Talukder in Habiganj-2 and Anwar Hossain in Moulvibazar-1,

The BSP nominated candidates include Md Haris Miah in Sunamganj-1, Abu Saleh in Sunamganj-5, Badrul Alam Siddiqui in Habiganj-3 and Mukhlesur Rahman in Habiganj-4, while BNM nominated SAM Sohag in Habiganj-2.

Advocate Arifur Rahman, a voter from Sunamganj-1, said, "I first heard the names of the candidates of Trinamool BNP and BSP after announcement of their candidacies."

In Khulna, Abdullah Al Amin is contesting as BNM candidate in Khulna-2 constituency.

However, most voter do not know him; only a few recognised him as a former AL activist.

Contacted, Amin admitted that he was involved with AL politics in past, but now he is the member secretary of BNM's Sonadanga upazila unit in Khulna.

Meanwhile, Jatiya Hindu Mohajote general secretary Gobinda Chandra Pramanik, a resident of Rajbari district, is contesting in Khulna-1 constituency as Trinamool BNP candidate.

Some people know him as a Hindu community leader, not as a political leader.

Pabitra Roy, a member of Batiaghata union parishad, said, "Being an elected peoples' representative, even I don't know him (Gobinda)."

Contacted, Gobinda said, "I live in Dhaka. But I am contesting in Khulna-1 constituency from Trinamool BNP. I am not involved with the party, but took its membership to contest the polls."

In Barishal, Md Shajahan Siraj is contesting in Barishal-2 as Trinamool BNP candidate.

"I don't know whether any person under the banner of Trinamool BNP is contesting here. I don't know any person named Shajahan Siraj," said a trader of Ujirpur Bazar under Barishal-2 constituency.

Contacted over phone, Shajahan said he was an expatriate in Saudi Arabia before returning to Bangladesh in 1996. Since then, he was involved with Jubo Dal, the youth front of BNP, in Dhaka's Motijheel area. Later, he joined Trinamool BNP.

[Our correspondents from respective district contributed to the report]